Nov. 4, 2013
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Paul Anthony Ciancia is the alleged gunman in the LAX shooting. / AFP

by Shannon Rae Green, USA TODAY

by Shannon Rae Green, USA TODAY

The man accused of killing a TSA agent and wounding three other people at Los Angeles International Airport had written a note â?? and it mentions NWO, a conspiracy theory. So what is NWO?

Paul Ciancia, 23, has been hospitalized in critical condition since he was shot by airport police. Authorities are reporting Ciancia, in the note, said he wanted to shoot a TSA officer, and didn't care which one. And there's that abbreviation, NWO, that the media has been dissecting since it was announced.

It's called the New World Order. Theorists use that term to reference an alleged secret plot to establish a single government for the world. The Southern Poverty Law Center summed up the theory on its blog Hatewatch: World powers are supposedly working to make a socialistic one-world government that would destroy American freedoms. The post also explains that some believe the theory started when the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, and began using fiat currency â?? paper money that is not backed by gold. Ciancia's note also talked about "fiat currency."